Do You Like Shakespeare?
by Simon Seville
Summary: Simon hates the story of Romeo and Juliet, yet somehow, he's managed to get the part of Romeo in the school play. He would drop out, but the cast list is preventing him from doing so. Boyfriend drama, and a best friend who still clings onto a 7th grade crush are just the tip of the ice burg. Alvon.
1. I Hate Romeo and Juliet

**Hey guys. So I decided to write a story that's longer than 2000 words. Hooray for non-laziness. **

**This is AU, but there's only one change. I wrote a back story for this.**

**Alvin and Theodore are blood-related siblings—Vinny is their mother. Simon's mother is Vinny's best friend. Basically, Alvin and Theodore are full siblings, and Simon's like their step-brother. They don't acknowledge this because they've been raised together, and they only found out that Simon wasn't their full brother during the episode A Chipmunk Reunion. **

**As for the whole birthday issue, I've decided that Simon was premature. He was supposed to be born around early June, but ended up being born mid-April with Alvin and Theodore. And, because fate can be weird, Simon just happened to be born 5 minutes after Alvin. **

**So everything is the exactly the same except for the whole not fully related thing. **

**The only reason I did this is because it makes me feel better with the logic of this story. There is an actual reason I did this; I didn't just do it for giggles.**

**So yeah…**

**Enjoy!**

**_page break_**

"Did you guys see that the school play is Romeo and Juliet?" Theodore asked as he joined his friends and siblings at their usual lunch table.

"Yeah, Mr. Rochelle was telling Simon and I about it after class," Alvin said, "he seems pretty psyched,"

"We're all trying out like usual, right?" Theodore asked while learning down to see the rest of the group. The others nodded in confirmation.

Since the fifth grade, they had all done the school plays together, but this was their last year in middle school before they graduated and went to Edison High School. 8th grade was the best year to do plays because all the lead roles always went to the 8th graders. It was finally their year to be on top.

"I refuse to try out," Simon mumbled. He poked the school's questionable peas with his fork and watched them dance around the plate.

"Why?" Alvin asked grabbing the fork from Simon's hand. He received a glare from his younger brother.

"Because I hate Romeo and Juliet,"

"You hate Romeo and Juliet?" Jeanette's eyes widened. How could anyone hate a classic? Two teens who were willing to die rather than live without the other gave her the chills. She knows that Shakespeare wrote it as a tragedy, but no matter how many times their pessimistic English teacher told her it was a tragedy, she would always feel it was meant to be a love story.

Shakespeare was amazing. He could relate to his audience. He knew how to write believable characters; they could be a poor merchant who gets lost in the crowd, or he could write about a wealthy noble who falls from power because of the hands of faith. And, his stories were adaptable—they are used as the base for TV and books; modern twists can be added to them. Romeo and Juliet is a perfect example of all this. How Simon could hate Romeo and Juliet was beyond her.

"Because it's cheesy,"

"It is not!" Jeanette shouted a bit louder than she anticipated. She covered her mouth in embarrassment and dropped her head before mumbling the rest of what she was going to say.

"It was an original work when he wrote it. It wasn't cliché back then,"

Simon rolled his eyes.

"I'll give you that. I guess modern society has ruined it for me. I cringed when we had to read it. Seriously though, why would you kill yourself over some boy you've known for less than a week? Also, Romeo is a creeper; he's 17 and she's 13 or something?"

Jeanette glared at him. He was not going to ruin her favorite play.

"Can I have my fork back? I'd like to eat," Simon stuck his hand out, but Jeanette grabbed it from Alvin.

"Hey!"

"You are missing the whole point! And back then, that was normal," Jeanette defended with a flushed face.

'Calm down, crazy," Brittany sighed, "are you on your period or something?"

The boys cringed.

"Brittany!"

"Grow up," Brittany rolled her eyes at them, "and as for you—it's just a story,"

"But he-"

"Jeanette, your face has gone all red," Eleanor laughed.

"I-" Jeanette felt more heat rise to her face as she dropped Simon's fork and brought her hands up to her face to conceal the growing red hue.

"Look, Jeanette, I'm sorry I offended you," Simon held his hands up in surrender, "but I'm still not changing my opinion, and I'm not trying out for the play,"

"You have to!" Theodore looked upset, "it's our last all-school play until we go to high school,"

"It's fine. You guys can still tryout; I'll just watch this year. Besides, I'll still do senior division and the 8th grade show,"

"But-" Simon cut him off with a glare. Theodore looked down at his lunch tray with a sigh of defeat.

**_page break_**

Silently, the six friends walked into the theater for auditions. Simon stayed near the back of the theater as to differentiate himself from the rest of the students there to actually audition. Jeanette glared at him, but Simon smiled back playfully.

Jeanette wasn't too mad at Simon; she never could be truly angry with her best friend. Also, they had a small image to keep up since they are "dating".

She had been the first person Simon told he is gay. It wasn't really intentional either; it just slipped out.

Back in the 7th grade, Jeanette had finally worked up the courage to tell Simon how she felt about him. She had spent days in advanced practicing every scenario that could happen; acceptance, rejection, surprise, laughter—the whole nine yards. She had practiced every situation except the one that actually happened.

Simon and Janette were having a _Doctor Who_ marathon at her house when she decided to tell him. They had spent the whole evening watching all of seasons one and two and crying over the end of the second season. It was nice being wrapped up in her purple hoodie and PJs with a massive _Doctor Who_ blanket draped across them. She had her head rested on his chest, and his head was tilted slightly onto hers while his arm lazily rested over her shoulder. She had never been more content in her life.

When they finished the final episode of season 2, she paused at the credits as to prevent Netflix from moving onto the Christmas special. She titled her head up and looked at his eyes. He was so cute.

She took a deep breath and listened to the sound of his breathing for a moment. It helped calm her slightly because she was a nervous wreck back then.

She felt him adjust and look down at her.

"Something the matter?"

She closed her eyes and let the rumble of his vocal chords tickle the top of her head. She couldn't think straight; she was so infatuated with him.

She loved the way he could go on and on about something he was passionate about. She loved the way they both were able to fangirl over _Doctor Who_. She loved the random moments when they would burst out in Disney songs and it be completely normal. His personality was just the tip of the ice burg; to her, he was incredibly handsome. She loved looking at his eyes; they were like a vast grey storm that you could easily get lost in. She felt lucky that he never caught her staring at them. If he did, he was polite enough not to embarrass her about it.

"Jeanette?" He looked concerned.

"I love you!" She blurted quickly.

That wasn't the way she intended to tell him; however, she was glad she was even able to say anything at that point. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and it was making her feel nauseous. The pounding felt like it was in her throat, and it was slowly making its way up to her head. Had breathing always been this hard?

Her eyes jerked up to his face. He was shocked, and she could see his face redden. She felt her own mimic his.

Is this what rejection feels like? Technically he hadn't rejected her yet, but it felt like it. Then again, she was the one who just sprang on the 'I love you' card on him. She would have been a hot mess if he had been the one to say it. This is not a rejection.

Simon shifted his arm off her subconsciously as if to put some distance between him and the offending phrase. Love? Where did that come from? He loved Jeanette as a friend, but he was fairly certain she didn't mean it in the friend sort of way. Love? How long has Jeanette felt this way? He didn't really want to be anything beyond friends; there was no way he could even ask her out.

He felt himself bit his lip in a nervous habit.

It wasn't that he didn't have the courage to ask her out—even though he didn't. It was more so that fact that he morally couldn't.

He saw Jeanette look up at him with glossed-over eyes. He had to say something. Anything. The silence was worse than not saying anything at all.

"Okay then," He couldn't make eye contact with her.

He didn't seem appalled by her; that was a good sign.

She shifted away from him and wrapped her arms around her legs and dropped her head to her knees. This is what small children felt like when they wanted to please their parents, but really, all they did was put them in an awkward situation. It was like when they tried to be cute for them, but it was just happening in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Do you not like me?" She sunk her head lower into her knees.

"No!" Did she actually just ask him that?

"No, y-you don't l-like me, or-" Jeanette just wanted to be able to disappear.

"N-no, no, no, I don't hate you—if that's what you're implying!" It was times like these where she wished she could be Brittany. There was no way she would have worked herself in this bad of a situation.

"It's… just… I-" What was he saying. He liked Jeanette as a friend, and nothing more. She was a sister to him.

Jeanette didn't dare to move. Any sudden movement would have made her lose her dinner.

"I…" Had talking always been this hard? "I like you-"

"You like me?" She sprang up in surprise. All she was listening for that one phrase, and as soon as she heard it, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. He liked her.

"Well-"

"You gave me a heart attack for a second," She laughed nervously, "Gosh, I felt like I was about to throw up,"

She turned to look at Simon, but felt a wave nerves hit her. He looked more sick than anything. Had she been so relieved to hear "I like you" that she hadn't let him finish his sentence? Did he say something afterwards?

She tried to replay what he had said moments before, but all she could hear was a confession. What was his tone? He sounded relieved in her head, but then again, she was having her own mental breakdown. It was very possible that her wreck of a brain was just looking for relief and that she hadn't been paying attention to details.

'_Shit,'_

"I-It's nothing against you by any means! It's just that I'm not attracted to girls, and things, and-"

He did not just say that?

No.

He refused to believe that he just told Jeanette that he was gay. That did not just slip out, did it? Perhaps she wouldn't interpret it that way; maybe she would just assume that he meant… something else.

Yeah right. You can't get more obvious than that. I don't like X gender which means that I would have to like this gender! What were the chances of her thinking that he was asexual?

'_Highly doubt that's what she thinking. What the hell.'_

'_Simon's not attracted to girls,' _Jeanette mentally slapped herself, _'Way to fall in love with someone who's gay. You've really reached an all-time low this time Jeanette,'_

"You're…" She took a deep breath, "gay?"

Simon shifted closer to the other end of the couch. Just a few minutes ago they were on top of each other, and now there was a massive three foot gap between them. This was a new level of cringe.

"I… didn't necessarily say… that," Simon tried to do damage control, but he didn't even sound convincing in his own ears.

"You just said you weren't attracted to girls!" God, she needed an aspirin.

"I will pay you twenty bucks if you forget this happened," Simon reached across the couch to grab her shoulders for emphases.

"I'll pay you fifty for you to forget this entire conversation!"

**_page break_**

It took them a while to regain their normal friendship, but after many more awkward conversations, they were able to sort themselves out.

In a series of events that Jeanette did not regret—at least now she didn't-somehow, a rumor got started that she had asked out Simon, and he had said yes. She had been so torn on whether to punch Brittany in the face or go and buy her a cupcake. There was no way she was going to tell her that he actually rejected her because that would involve telling her why he did. Lying had never been one of Jeanette's strong points, so instead, she decided to roll with it. Once Brittany left the room to go call more of her friends to tell them that her sister was breaking the rule that "the guy has to ask the girl out", she ran to go and tell Simon.

They both shared a moment of panic before Simon forced Jeanette to come with him to go talk in a sketchy back ally. She wanted to yell at him for taking her back there.

After a bit of arguing, they had decided that they would pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend; she wouldn't have to explain herself to Brittany, and no one would suspect Simon is gay. Plus, this gave her the right to kiss him every now and then.

It would never be the same as being able to date him, but she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to pretend to be dating her dream guy. She knew it was really pathetic, but she refused to look at it that way.

Jeanette playfully punched him in the arm before running to catch up with the others.

The five chipmunks sat down in the front row of the theater and quietly watched the other students file in. All the usual theater kids where there plus a few new faces.

"I hope Astrid tries out again. She definitely get Juliet," Alvin whispered over to Brittany with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, and maybe Hennery will get Romeo," Brittany replied with a scowl. Alvin was so obnoxious sometimes. She would bet that Theodore could play a better Romeo than him. He had no right to assume the role would be his.

"Please, how could anyone resist all of this?" Alvin gestured to himself.

"You just gestured to all of you," Brittany replied sarcastically. She heard Alvin grunt in response, and she couldn't help but smile.

With a loud clap, the room went silent as Mr. Rochelle walked to the front of the room with a smile on his face. He jumped up onto the stage and sat down in the center.

"It's wonderful to see all of you again! I see we have our returning 8th graders; can we give them a round of applause?" He asked enthusiastically.

The other students clapped and some even gave vocal responses. They were like a family, and it was always sad to see the 8th graders leave for high school—well, the theater 8th graders at least.

"It'll be sad to see you guys graduate come this May, but we wish you the best of luck with your final year in middle school. You lucky 7th graders will get to work with them again later this year. Now how many of you do we have trying out?" Mr. Rochelle went over all the names on the sign-up sheet.

"Twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five—wow, good crowd this year!" He said glancing from the sign-up sheet and to the audience.

"Well, since this it's been seven years since we done a Shakespeare play at this school, I'm going to have to explain a bit. We are going to be using the Shakespearean text—meaning we are not using the _No Fear Shakespeare _version. I think this will be a great learning experience of all of you. However, auditions will still be the same as always. You can either recite a monologue that you've already prepared, or you can do a cold read from the script—I will allow you to read the modern translation for your audition if you wish. Any questions?" He looked at the row of students.

"Nope? Great, let's get started! First on the sheet we have Alvin Seville," The other students clapped in support as Alvin hopped up onto the stage with an air of confidence. He picked up a script on the way up as Mr. Rochelle was stepping off the stage and moving to the middle rows of chairs in the theater.

Alvin smirked. Of course he was going to read the Shakespearean version—that would earn him major brownie points, and assure him the part of Romeo. How hard could Shakespearian English be? Wasn't it just a bunch of Ye arts and thy comeifs and what not? He wasn't too sure considering that fact he never actually read their assigned English books.

"I see you've chosen a script, Alvin," Mr. Rochelle noted, "I'm assuming you want to try out for Romeo?"

He nodded his head in confirmation.

"Alright, flip to Act II Scene II. It's right before Juliet's famous aside. The first line is 'but soft.' Start from there,"

Alvin nodded again and flipped to where their teacher was talking about before slating himself.

"Hi, my name is Alvin Seville. I am in the 8th grade, and I will be reading as Romeo," Alvin took a breath before starting the passage.

"But soft! What light… through yonder window breaks? Is it the east… and Juliet… is the sun," What the hell was he reading?

"The line is: It is the east!" Mr. Rochelle called out. Alvin tried not to glare at him for interrupting.

"Arise, fair sun, and kill the… envious moon. Who is already sick and pale with green!"

"Greif!" Mr. Rochelle called.

"Greif!" This was a lot harder than her thought. Maybe he should have just gone with his original monologue.

"That there, her maid, is far fairer than she is," Well, he botched that line, "Be her maid since she's envious," Shakespeare grammar was stupid anyways.

"Her vest- vest-al… live…ry liver… is sick and green," Alvin could hear a few snickers coming from the audience, but he decided to ignore them. He'd like to see them cold read from this stupid script.

"And none but- fools do wear it. Cast it off!" At least he managed to get through that line okay. He wasn't even sure what he was saying; all he was hoping was his voice matched the tone of the scene.

"Thank you, Alvin, that's enough for now!" Mr. Rochelle called. Alvin looked down in the audience and saw most of his friends trying to contain their laughter. Did he really do that bad? He glanced in the back of the theater and saw Simon was nearly dying. He furrowed his eyebrows.

'_You are so dead,'_

"What's so funny, Simon?" Alvin yelled out to his brother. Everyone turned to the back of the auditorium, and Simon tried to compose himself quickly. He removed his hand from his mouth and sat up straight and then crossed his arms over his chest as nonchalant as he could. He cleared his throat when he felt everyone looking at him.

'_I'm going to kill him,'_

"Simon, what are you doing back there?" Mr. Rochelle asked surprised. Why was one of his regulars not sitting with the rest of the group?

"Uh…" Simon's mind drew a blank.

"Oh, he doesn't want to try out this year." Alvin yelled from the stage. The room filled with a few teasing 'Ooos'.

"Shut up, Alvin!" Simon yelled back. He felt an angry blush forming on his cheeks.

"You have to try out, Simon!" Mr. Rochelle stood up and turned to face Simon with crossed arms.

"No, I really-"

"Simon, Simon, Simon!" Alvin started chanting. The rest of the auditorium joined in with some students adding stomps. He felt his face get redder and he buried his face into his hands.

"Shut up, Alvin!" Simon yelled through his hands.

"Come on, dude, your _girlfriend _might even play Juliet!" Alvin put a bit of emphases on girlfriend that only they would know the actual reason for.

'_I'm so going to murder him,' _

A few laughs were heard, and the chanting grew louder. This was too embarrassing. He stood up from his seat and in an exasperated voice, he gave in.

"Okay! I'll "tryout,"" He walked to the front of the room. Alvin smirked at him when he walked up next to him on the stage.

"Let me show you how to read Shakespearean English," Simon said taking the script out of Alvin's hand.

"Be my guest," Alvin grinned and walked off stage. His smile sent a shiver up Simon's spin. Alvin could try harder to make his flirting less obvious; he felt so exposed whenever he shot him those looks. It felt like everyone knew about them even though there's no way they could.

"Simon," Mr. Rochelle called from the back, "why don't you read Romeo's monologue from Act III Scene III. It when Romeo is complaining to Friar Lawrence about being banished. The first line is 'tis torture and not mercy,"

Simon flipped to the page in the script and skimmed it quickly. He knew this scene well because he hated it so much when he read it.

Oh no, I've been banished because I couldn't control myself and just had to go and refight Tybalt when I should have just reported him for killing my best friend. But nooo… now I'm going to go and sulk like a 5-year-old and complain that everyone else gets to be with my love except me. I think I'll go and kill myself.

It was disgusting.

With a sigh, Simon started to slate himself.

"Hello, my name is Simon Seville. I am in the 8th grade, and I will be reading as Romeo," He took a pause before adding, "just so we're clear, I'm not actually auditioning," He watched Jeanette and Alvin roll their eyes.

"That's very nice Simon. You may begin," Mr. Rochelle brush off the statement like it was a joke.

With another sigh, he started reading the scene.

"'Tis torture and not mercy. Heaven is here, where Juliet lives, and every cat and dog, and little mouse, every unworthy thing, live here in heaven and may look on her, but Romeo may not," Simon read the lines smoothly and with ease. There were no awkward pauses, and he kept the sentence structure in-tact. Mr. Rochelle was defiantly impressed with what he was seeing.

Jeanette grinned upon listening to Simon act out the words. She could hear the attitude in in his voice, and she knew that wasn't because he was acting; it was probably because he was internally cringing at the lines. She wouldn't be surprised if Alvin came to school with a broken wrist.

Alvin was trying his hardest to suppress the stupid smile on his face. God, Simon was cute when he was acting. He could feel the anger in his words, and he knew that part of that tone was to be directed at him, but he concealed it well. Simon was going to kill him later that evening. Guess he was going to have to work hard tonight to get Simon to cuddle with him—not that he minded a challenge or anything.

"They may seize on the white wonder of dear Juliet's hand, and steal immortal blessing from her lips,"

Jeanette loved this scene because it showed just how much Romeo cared for Juliet. All of a sudden, he was transformed into this jealous machine because of the irreversible punishment of being banished. His mind wandered from being bitter towards dogs, cats, and mice because they were able to live in the same city as Juliet, to being angry at flies because they could touch her skin and give her "kisses", and then to thinking about how innocent she was because she blushed at the thought of her own lips touching—let alone them touching anybody else's. He was telling Friar Lawrence that death was better than banishment. Why would Simon hate something so sweet and romantic?

"A sin-absolver, and my friend professed, to mangle me with that word "banishèd"?" With a nod of the head Simon concluded his monologue, "thank you," He said as he walked off stage. He shot Alvin a glare on the way down.

"That was excellent, Simon! Bravo!" The others clapped as well. Simon gave a nervous laugh before heading back to the back of the theater.

"Alright, next on the list we have Jeanette,"

**_page break_**

**Yes, Alvin and Simon are dating if you didn't catch that; this is the reason why they are not related. If you don't like, feel free to pretend they are. I don't care. **

**I hope you like that! **

**Side notes!**

**First, to "cold read a script" means to read it for the first time and act it out as best as you can. It would be like if you had never read this story, and you decided to go act it out right now. **

**Second, Simon's view on Romeo and Juliet match that of my own. I personally love Shakespeare, and his plays are amazing once you figure out what the text means. Romeo and Juliet is my least favorite Shakespearean play because of modern society; it has just sucked everything out of it and made it the most cheesy thing ever.**

**So why is the play in your story Romeo and Juliet?**

**Because I love how it shapes this story. Yes, it's corny, but this story isn't Romeo and Juliet; the plot just builds around the play. **

**I hope that made some since. **

**Review please!**


	2. I Hate That I Love You

**Thank you so much to everyone who review and favorited this story! It means a lot. Sorry it took 10 days or so to update, but I've been on vacation. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**_page break_**

**Romeo and Juliet Cast List**

**Romeo Montague: **Simon Seville

**Juliet Capulet:** Jeanette Miller

**Friar Lawrence: **Dan Howell

**Mercutio: **Theodore Seville*

**Benvolio: **Phil Lester

**Montague: **Nathan Jones*

**Lady Montague: **Brittany Miller*^

**Capulet: **Hennery Haddock

**Lady Capulet: **Eleanor Miller

**Paris: **Scott Nout*

**Prince Escalus: **Theodore Seville*

**Nurse:** Alvin Seville^

**Friar John: **Nathan Jones*

**Peter: **Holden Caulfield*

**Balthasar: **Becky Howell*

**Sampson: **John Smith*^

**Gregory: **Scott Nout*

**Abraham: **Amy Pond*^

**The Apothecary: **Mary Watson*

**Paris's Page: **Brittany Miller*

**Chorus: **

Holden Caulfield*

Becky Howell*

John Smith*

Amy Pond*

Mary Watson*

**Understudies:**

**Romeo: **Alvin Seville

**Juliet: **Brittany Miller

**Lady Montague: **Amy Pond

**Nurse: **John Smith

***Denotes a double role**

**^Denotes an understudy role **

Congratulations to everyone who auditioned! You all did FABLOUS!

Rehearsals will begin Monday, September 8 and will go from 3:30-5:30. The show is running from Friday, November 14- Sunday, November 16. Tech week will be from November 7-13—**NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO MISS THIS WEEK! **

All rehearsals will be from 3:30-5:30 until the 27 of October (2 weeks before tech week). We will extend practice until 7:00 from there on out.

Please let me know if you have any conflicts ASAP! Can't wait to work with you all!

-Mr. Rochelle

**_page break_**

"Why am I the bloody nurse?!" Alvin yelled gripping the paper a bit too tight, "I should be Romeo!"

Brittany rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. They had bigger problems to worry about then Alvin not getting the part of Romeo.

"Alvin, your audition sucked," Brittany said taking the cast list out of Alvin's hands, "mine, on the other hand, did not! Why am I not Juliet?!"

"Because, Jeanette read the Shakespearean version, and killed it!" Eleanor hit Brittany's arm in a sisterly manner, "you were the only 8th grader who didn't even attempt to read the Shakespeare,"

"My husband is Nathan!" Brittany cried dramatically as she slouched and wrapped her arms around Eleanor and put her head in the crock of her neck. She deserved the female lead; what she couldn't justify was why she was playing Lady Montague—who had a smaller role than Lady Capulet—and why the heck her husband was being played by Nathan. She should have cast as Juliet. Clearly, Mr. Rochelle was discriminating against her talents. She was defiantly going to talk to him once rehearsals started next week.

"Yeah, you have a point with that last one," Eleanor patted her sister on the back, "but my husband is Hennery!" She couldn't help but brag.

"Uh… congrats on Juliet, Jeanette!" Theodore came up to her and gave her a high five to lighten the mood.

"Thanks, Theodore," She said trying to hid her smile of excitement.

"Hello, I'm still playing the nurse! Isn't that a female role?" Alvin whined. He was not going to play a female lead. Four years of doing every school play—all school, division, and grade plays—was not supposed to lead him to embarrassment. If Mr. Rochelle wanted a boy to play the nurse, he should have given the role to a 6th grader. Upper classmen did not work their way to the top for nothing!

"At least you get a comedic role,"

"That doesn't matter if I'm going to have to dress in drag!"

"Hey, at least you get to be your little brother's understudy," Brittany jabbed at Alvin's ego. She laughed when she watched his face crinkle in disdain.

"So are you," Alvin grumbled back. Brittany came up behind him and wacked him on the back of the head. Alvin turned around to face her with his fist ready to punch her.

"Heyyy…" Theodore stepped in front of Alvin before he did anything stupid, "speaking on Simon, has he seen the cast list?"

The others froze. Simon said before he did the monologue that he wasn't actually auditioning. The color drained from all their faces as they each tried to read each other. Someone had to know if Simon knew he was the lead, right?

"Where's Simon?" Jeanette asked stiffly.

They all looked at each other before Eleanor spoke up.

"Standing here like deer in headlights is not going to help us! Someone text him!"

"I got it!" Alvin said snapping out of his little trance. Simon was going to be pissed off when he found out he was the lead in a play he couldn't stand; and of course, it was going to be his fault. Simon nearly broke his wrist Monday. It took him forever to get Simon to sit down and let him talk to him that night. It has been four days, and Simon was finally letting the whole incident go. He hated not being able to come into Simon's room at night and be flirty with him. He looked forward to the moments when he could make him blush or stammer.

Alvin pulled out his phone and sent him a text.

_Get your ass out here by the statue. NOW._

**_page break_**

Simon was in in the science room talking to Mr. Hoover about what projects they would be allowed for the second semester science fair. He had come up with an idea over them summer, and wanted to know if it was approved before he started working on it. A two minute question had turned into a fifteen minute conversation about mercury and the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. He would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying it.

"I think I've heard about that from somewhere," Simon commented as he learned further back onto the desk.

"I'm sure you have. I'm surprised that it hasn't popped up in your history class yet. Mr. Reynolds is a sucker for trivia facts like that,"

"I know. He was telling us about-" Simon felt in phone vibrate in his pocket, and sound of a TARDIS fill the empty room. He put on a cheeky smile before pulling out his phone.

"Sorry," He said while unlocking it.

"It's fine. Nice text tone,"

"Thanks,"

_Get your ass out here by the statue. NOW._

What has Alvin done this time? It must be important if Alvin was using the word 'ass' rather than 'butt' like he did when he was being playful. He rolled his eyes and typed back a response.

_What the hell did you do this time?_

He looked up at Mr. Hoover with an apologetic look.

"I have to go. My brother needs me," He picked up his backpack and shoved his textbooks in.

"Everything okay?"

"I'm not sure," Simon laughed light-heartedly, "bye!"

Mr. Hoover chuckled, "Have a good weekend!" he waved.

"You too!"

Simon dashed out of the room and felt his phone buzz again in his hand. He rolled his eyes. He had a feeling that Alvin had managed to get a detention in the last ten minutes of class. This was going to be the last time he waited for him to get out on a Friday; was it wrong he just wanted to go home and relax? He sighed and glanced down at the screen.

_NOTHING! _

Another buzz.

_WHERE ARE YOU?_

He typed back.

_I'll be outside in ten seconds. Calm down. _

He picked up his pace for Alvin's sake. Lord knows he can't be kept waiting for longer than ten seconds. When he opened the door to leave the school, he was attacked by his friends and siblings. So this is what being popular felt like.

"Where were you?"

"Please don't kill me!"

"Have you seen the cast list?"

"You have to look!" A piece of paper was shoved up into his face and Simon had duck out of everyone's frenzy.

"Hey, hey, hey!" He yelled over their screaming, "what is so important about this cast list?" He asked taking it out of Theodore's hands. Did one of them not make it in? Surely Alvin would have just texted him if that were the case. He skimmed the list looking for anything unusual.

Alvin's playing Romeo and apparently someone's understudy—not sure how that worked- Jeanette's playing Juliet—congrats to her—Theodore is Mercutio… and the Prince, Brittany is Lady Montague, Eleanor is Lady Capulet. They all made it in. What was the big deal?

The other's watched as Simon's face didn't even flinch. What the heck was going on?

"You're all in. Congrats…" Simon said handing the list back to Theodore. He received blank stares from the others.

"There is no way you read this list right," Brittany jabbed her finger into Simon's chest. He furrowed his eyebrows. Alright then.

"Sorry…?"

"Could you please tell me who's playing Romeo?" Alvin asked with his arms crossed. Way to be subtle on wanting some praise.

"Oh for goodness sakes; congrats on Romeo, Alvin," He replied sarcastically.

"No, no, no, I don't think you actually read the first name correctly," Alvin grabbed the list from Theodore and shoved it back to Simon. Of all the times for Simon to not really care…

"Read to me, aloud, who is play Romeo,"

"Guys, I'm not in the mood for games. Let's just go home!"

"Read it!" They all shouted. Simon put his hands up—best not to make them angry at this point.

"Romeo: Simon Seville," He said with a sigh. What even-

He felt something in his brain click. Simon looked back down at the piece of paper and re-read the name of the person playing Romeo. Sure enough, his name was printed next to the bolded font. This had to be some kind of sick joke. He clearly told Mr. Rochelle that he was NOT trying out for the play. He even went up to him afterwards and told him that he wasn't joking when he said he wasn't trying out. Did this man not understand he was being serious?

He looked back down at the sheet of paper.

'_Clearly not,' _

"This cannot be the actual cast list," Simon laughed nervously. Nobody made eye contact with him.

"Oh, but it is," Alvin said meekly look over Simon's shoulder.

"Okay," Simon stated calmly, "let's all just go home and enjoy our weekend," He felt like he was in some kind of trance.

The five looked at each other more than worried. That was not how they expected Simon to react—in fact, it was the polar opposite.

"Nice knowing you, Alvin," Brittany whispered as she patted him on the back.

"Eleanor, you wanna go and get some cupcakes for the weekend?" Theodore asked nervously.

"That sounds wonderful," She grabbed his hand, and the two darted off the opposite direction of their houses. Brittany and Jeanette looked at each other before silently agreeing that they were not going to walk home with Simon or Alvin.

"Well, uh… Jeanette and I are going to head to the mall for a bit of celebratory shopping. Bye!" Brittany said dashing off while Jeanette struggled to keep up with her sister's fast pace.

"Yeah, thank guys!" Alvin yelled at his fleeing friends. Simon was going to kill him, and the last place he wanted to be was alone with him. He felt his heartbeat quickening. When was the last time Simon made him feel this way?

"You coming, Alvin?" Simon asked in the same calm voice.

'_Shit.'_

**_page break_**

Alvin couldn't remember the last time he had been pinned under Simon—oh wait, it was only four days ago. That is way too soon in Alvin's opinion. And, it wasn't even like he was doing this to be flirty—no, it was because he intended to break his wrist. Or arm. Or dislocate a shoulder. Or potentially strangle him. Basically, bodily harm was going to be involved.

Ordinarily his mind would have been wandering if Simon was sitting on his stomach with his face dangerously close to his. If Simon didn't look like he would snap him in two, he would have lifted his head and kissed him. He had done that several times to relax his boyfriend's over-active brain, but that tactic probably only worked when Simon was stressed or sad. Angry would earn him a bloody nose.

"You just had to call me out Monday, didn't you?!" Simon yelled with his forehead nearly touching Alvin's. It was times like these where Alvin wished they still shared a room; they couldn't lock the door when they shared a bedroom.

"I can't predict the future!" Alvin yelled back. He squirmed under Simon's grip on his wrist, and he felt Simon press down harder in an attempt to maintain dominance. Alvin grunted and managed to lift his arm up enough to where he could grab Simon's wrist. He shifted his weight slightly and lifted his leg so that it rested against Simon's side. With a quick jerk to the right, he was able to flip Simon on to his back. He straddled his legs across Simon's torso and pinned his arms in the same position he had him in seconds ago.

Simon felt the blood rush to his face with anger. He hated not being as strong as Alvin since it made it so easy for him to regain dominance and hard for Simon to take it back. It took a lot of strength for Simon to even tackle Alvin, much less flip him. He gritted his teeth together.

"That's not the point!" Simon tried to reassert his position on top of Alvin, but he just tightened his grip. Simon winced in pain, but stopped when he realized he was showing weakness.

'_Screw you and your stupid strength, Alvin,' _

"Then what is the point?" Alvin asked not losing the strength in his voice, but the power in his grip. He felt his heart beat a bit faster when he saw Simon's eyes flinch in pain. Simon may have intended on hurting him, but he didn't.

Simon mentally cursed when he felt Alvin loosen his hold on his wrist slightly. He did not want to feel pitied right now. It was already bad enough he couldn't maintain dominance in this argument.

"My point is that you embarrassed me to the point of where I had to go up there! All those underclassmen worship you; they weren't going to stop until you did, and you definitely weren't stopping anytime soon," Simon growled.

"Okay, maybe I went a bit over board-" Alvin held his hands up in defense, and Simon seized the opportunity to flip him onto his back. He smirked when he saw Alvin's shocked face which quickly turned into a grimace.

"A bit?!" Simon laughed spitefully.

"It's not like I forced you up there!" This argument was going in circles.

Simon wanted to slap Alvin, but if he did, Alvin would use that as he chance to flip him back onto his back. He knew Alvin could flip him anytime he wanted, but it was best not to present the opportunity.

"You yelled—in front of everyone I might add—quote: come on, dude, your _girlfriend _might even play Juliet! Do you really think I'm supposed to turn you down when everyone thinks we're "the cutest couple" and that we're "madly in love"? No, you knew exactly what you were saying when you told me that!"

Alvin glanced to the side. Yes he said that, and perhaps it was because he wanted to Simon to get up there, but his intention was never for Simon to get the part. He honestly just wanted to listen to Simon read some Shakespeare; he thought it'd be cute. And it wasn't until later that night when he was practically in the same situation he is in now that he realized Simon _really _did not want to get up on stage. At least Simon wasn't in the play then. He was just angry about the fact that he embarrassed him in front of everybody.

"I never intended for you actually get a part, Simon," Alvin shot, "I just wanted to hear you read some Shakespeare,"

Simon glared at him dumbfounded.

"I could have done that for you at home!"

Alvin hated losing an argument. He needed to reassert some kind of dominance. Once again, he was able to successfully flip Simon. He felt him try to knee him, but it was just a waste of energy on Simon's part. His faced was flushed beet red, and his eyes were glossed over with angry tears.

Alvin felt terrible. He wanted to kiss Simon and hold him tight. He wanted to say he was sorry, but his pride was on the line. Rage was all that was on their minds, and they were both too far gone to even think about saying sorry. Guilty rage would forever be Alvin's least favorite emotion.

He knew he was in the wrong, but he couldn't help the next sentence that came out of his mouth.

"You know, maybe I wouldn't have called you out if you weren't laughing your head off during my monologue! It is embarrassing as hell when you think you're doing your best, and the person you care about most in the room is laughing at you!" Alvin felt the impending tears flow onto his cheeks.

'_Good one, Alvin. Let's make the person you're trying to convince not to hate you by turning the blame on them. Brilliant idea,'_

"I-I… are you joking right now?!" Simon tried to blink the blurriness out of his eyes. He was not going to cry.

"I wasn't laughing at you in spite, Alvin. I was laughing because I thought your performance was endearing,"

"It didn't feel that way,"

'_Really should stop talking now, Alvin,'_

"You knew I wasn't laughing at you, Alvin, or else your tone and entire attitude would have been completely different when you called me out," He couldn't find his voice. He did not want it to go weak—he needed to keep the anger in his voice, but right now he sounded like a kicked puppy.

When Alvin didn't respond immediately, Simon continued.

"I'm not going to say that I shouldn't have been laughing, because if I had gone up there and botched an audition like that, you would have been crying your eyes out," Alvin glared at him. Simon's voice had gone horse, and the feistiness of his words were slow fading into guilt, "but, I shouldn't have… done what I did today or Monday. I mean, none of this is actually that big of a deal, but-"

He was cut off by something soft pressing against his lips. He reflexively closed his eyes and let himself melt into Alvin's kiss. He hated how Alvin could make he feel this way; angry, guilty, and sexually frustrated all at once. He still wanted to chew him out, but at the same time he wanted Alvin to hold him. He would never understand how something as simple as a kiss in the right moment could calm him down. If Alvin had tried that seconds ago, he would have surely lost it and punched him.

He loves Alvin. He would never say it out loud, but he loved the way Alvin took care of him intimately. Being with him gave him a thrill. There was never a dull moment with him, and that's what drew him to Alvin in the first place. Their silly arguments, and Alvin's spontaneousness made him feel something he never experienced with anyone else. He felt like a bubbly school girl whenever her crush talked to her. It was horribly, wonderfully awful. And he could never get sick of that feeling.

Simon felt Alvin's lips brush gently across his when he pulled back. He didn't even realize he had let his tears fall until Alvin let out a sniffled laugh and brushed them off with his thumb. Simon let out his own teary laugh and a sigh of relief when he felt Alvin move off of him. He could breathe again!

Alvin rolled next to Simon on the floor and turned his head towards him.

"You have every right to be pissed off at me," Alvin grabbed Simon's hand and laced their fingers together. Simon looked at him and then down at their hands with a sad smile on his face.

"I'm sorry for edging everyone on and making you get up there,"

"I'm sorry for over reacting," He looked back up at Alvin.

They sat in silence for a while.

Alvin couldn't believe that that kiss had actually worked. He was 50% sure he was going to have a black eye or something. But, in the end, it did work. He could feel their steam wearing off, and at that moment, it just seemed like the best way for them to stop yelling at each other for something so pointless. Maybe that's why it worked so well; neither of them could yell anymore.

Simon was left in a daze. What had just happened? He couldn't process anything other than the last few minutes of… that.

Alvin's voice brought him out of his one thought trance.

"Are we good?" Alvin asked rolling onto his side.

"Yeah," Simon did the same and closed his eyes. He felt Alvin reclaim his lips once again.

**_page break_**

It was around ten at night, and Alvin and Simon were curled up in Alvin's bed watching the _How to Train Your Dragon _series on Netflix. This is what their relationship was normally like, and Simon loved every minute of it.

He had just gotten out of the shower and Alvin's fingers lazily ran through his still very wet hair. Neither one of them was really focusing on the current episode at hand. Normally they would have been commentating the episode and making jokes, but tonight just felt like a cuddling night.

Alvin brought his forehead to the side of Simon's face and slid down the hand that was just playing with his hair down his arm. Simon leaned more into Alvin.

"So what are you going to do about the play?" Alvin mumbled into Simon's hair. He inhaled the scent of his shampoo—green apple. It was almost intoxicating.

"I'm probably going to drop out," Simon replied softly.

Alvin sat up and positioned himself on his side facing Simon. He propped his head up with hand.

"You can't drop out,"

Simon slid down the pillows and remained on his back, but turned his head towards Alvin. He closed his eyes; their argument and his shower had drained all of his energy.

"Why not? You're my understudy; I thought you'd be pleased,"

Alvin leaned in and gave a peck on Simon's lips. Simon opened his eyes to look at his boyfriend. His eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. They were lighter near the pupil, but the outer part of his iris was defined with a dark blue. They gradually faded into an almost grey hue towards the center. He loved his eyes.

"Trust me, on normal circumstances I would have taken the role from you in a heartbeat," Simon rolled his eyes playfully and received a chuckle from Alvin, "but that means Jeanette is still Juliet,"

Simon furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He didn't see anything wrong with Jeanette playing Juliet; sure, Alvin and her weren't the closest of people, but they didn't hate each other.

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's nothing against Jeanette, but you seem to have forgotten that she is your "girlfriend"."

Alvin never really liked the fact that Simon and Jeanette had made this whole thing up about them dating, but it couldn't be helped. Brittany just had to open her big mouth and go blab to the world that girls needed to wake up to the 21st century and go ask out the boy of their dreams!

"So?" He stilled didn't see what the problem was.

"Please always stay this clueless,"

Simon rolled his eyes and Alvin couldn't help but smile. God he was so in love with him.

"Tell me,"

"People are going to think that you are thrilled because Jeanette is playing your love interest even though you made it quite clear to everyone that you didn't want to be in the play-"

"Everyone but Mr. Rochelle," Alvin laughed after he shot him a glare for interrupting.

"Fine, even though you made it quite clear to everyone but Mr. R that you didn't want to be in the play, people will just assume that your relieved or happy or what every because your "girlfriend" is playing your… girlfriend,"

"Okay…" Simon was starting to feel like he knew what Alvin was hinting at.

"How bad would it look if a boyfriend turned down the opportunity to have an on-stage romance with his actual girlfriend? And, also, I'm your understudy, so it was look even worse if said boyfriend willing let his _brother _kiss his girlfriend. Don't you think rumors would start?"

Alvin had a good point. It would look suspicious if he dropped out. Their theater friends wouldn't bash him too hard about it, but other peers? There was no doubt in his mind that some dick would start a rumor that Simon was gay because he didn't want to be all lovey dovey with Jeanette. Plus, being in theater didn't help that image too much.

"People will talk,"

"People do little else though," Alvin grinned at the Sherlock reference.

"But seriously, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I think I'll sleep on it," Simon closed his eyes again and let his body sink into Alvin's bed. He almost fell asleep immediately, but Alvin continued talking.

"I don't mind if you want to sleep in my bed, but you're always the one complaining whenever I nod off in yours,"

"Shut up," He muttered into the pillow.

"Oh Alvin, wake up! How are we supposed to explain this if Theodore or Dave sees us?" Alvin did his best impression of Simon.

"Theodore's… at Eleanor's," He had about five seconds left of consciousness, "and… we can tell Dave… I just… fell asleep watching TV with you,"

Alvin let out a low chuckle, and then leaned down to place a goodnight kiss on his lips.

"I love you," Alvin said as he reached over to turn off the TV and then click the lamp off. Simon let out a quiet "mmm" in response as he descended into a peaceful slumber.

**_page break_**

**How was that guys? I personally enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. **

**Side notes!**

**I have no idea if my asterisks and carrot tops showed up on the cast list because FF can be really weird when you put symbols in a story. Basically the asterisks meant a double role and the carrot tops meant an understudy role. **

**Also, the cast list has a bunch of characters from my favorite TV shows and what not. I'm curious to know if any of you get the references. Tell me in your review.**

**Nathan Jones is the bully from AATC Meet the Wolfman—they don't say his last name in the show, but I choose Jones because it had a nice ring to it. **


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